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General manager Gene Smith has no control over off-the-field troubles

2 cents

The walk of shame that Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon was forced to make this week was very much needed.

The rookie had to sit between his bosses and take his medicine while general manager Gene Smith and coach Mike Mularkey publicly admonished Blackmon for his second alcohol-related arrest in less than two years. I kept waiting to hear Smith tell Blackmon that he was grounded for a month, and for punishment, he'd have to wear a Matt Jones jersey throughout training camp.

I realize that the GM will be linked to Blackmon for as long as the two are in Jacksonville together, but to put the blame on Smith — something I've heard since Blackmon's DUI arrest in Stillwater, Okla., last weekend — is ridiculous. I have questioned Smith's drafting skills and the way that he's built the Jaguars, but I have never questioned his ability to put character guys on the team. I think that Smith is one of the better front office guys in the NFL when it comes to putting an emphasis on character over talent. If there were serious red flags about Blackmon during the team's robust, pre-draft fact-gathering process, the Jaguars would've bypassed him, plain and simple.

I remember being at a Ron Zook news conference in 2004 when his Florida football program was in the midst of a turbulent cycle of players being arrested. Zook said that he wanted to be able to control his players better, but realistically, how could he?

There's only so much that a team can do when it comes to doing background checks and research on a player. Is it Smith's fault that Blackmon elected to go out and get sloshed like a frat boy on pledge night and then get behind the wheel of a car? When you're in the position of any coach or general manager, you have to hope that your players know how to avoid putting themselves in bad situations, and know the consequences if they do.

That's not something you're going to find in a scouting report.

GRACE IN DEFEAT

Meghan Vogel, a junior athlete at West Liberty-Salem High School (Ohio), wasn't going to win the state track and field championship in the 3,200-meter run on June 2 in Columbus. Not even close.

She was 15th in a field of 15 with 20 meters left when something remarkable happened.

Arden McMath, a sophomore from Arlington High School, collapsed in that final stretch due to heat and dehydration. Instead of running around the fallen athlete, Vogel stopped and helped carry McMath across the finish line, making sure that she nudged McMath across before her. McMath finished 14th, Vogel 15th and the story made international news.

Vogel, who won the 1,600 earlier in the day, said she didn't do anything that other runners in her position wouldn't have done.

Not quite.

I've been to a few high school track and field meets in my career, and the times that I've seen an athlete fall during a race I've never seen another one stop to help out.

"I think fate may have put me [in last place] for a reason," Vogel told ESPN.